


Retail Romance

by jonsastan (lilzipop)



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Jon and Sansa Are Not Related, Jon and the Starks Are Not Related, Modern AU, Retail AU, fluffly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-25
Updated: 2019-03-25
Packaged: 2019-12-07 02:15:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18228542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilzipop/pseuds/jonsastan
Summary: “I can’t remember the name of the book or the author, but it has a red cover.” Sansa suppressed a chuckle as she listened to the conversation between a customer and a deeply frustrated bookshop assistant.“Okay, red cover.” The young man with the name tag Jon replied. “Do you remember anything about the plot?”





	Retail Romance

“I can’t remember the name of the book or the author, but it has a red cover.” Sansa suppressed a chuckle as she listened to the conversation between a customer and a deeply frustrated bookshop assistant. 

 

“Okay, red cover.” The young man with the name tag Jon replied. “Do you remember anything about the plot?”

 

“How would I know the plot?” The customer asked as if Jon was an idiot. “I haven’t read it yet. How many books can there be with red covers?” The customer sounded as exasperated as Sansa was sure Jon felt. 

 

“I have some books with red covers over there sir, why don’t you start there and we’ll see if we can find it?” He suggested. The man sighed in a frustrated manner but strutted off to the section indicated. 

 

“What a dick.” Sansa said without thinking. 

 

Jon looked at her and smiled.

 

“A total dick. But he usually drops a couple of hundred every time he visits so I put up with it.” Sansa smiled back and nodded. 

 

“Oh I get it. I work at this boutique and sometimes I want to strangle people. Like the “Oh you’re closing in 2 minutes, I’ll just browse” people.” Jon let out a groan of sympathetic annoyance.

 

“Those people are the worst! Or the “Is that the best price you can do?” people?” 

 

“Oh my Gods yes! I feel like yelling at them, that I just work there I don’t control the prices! I hate it when you tell someone that you don’t have whatever in stock, even out the back and they ask you to check, like I don’t practically live in this shop and know what we have.” 

 

“Do you do the thing where you go out the back and check your phone, have something to drink-” Jon began

 

“And then come out and say “No, sorry! Nothing out there” Yes!” Sansa enthused. 

 

“People are the worst.” Jon said smiling.

 

“The absolute worst.” She agreed smiling back at him. There was an awkward pause as neither really knew what to do next. “Can I grab this?” She asked offering the book in her hands toward him. 

 

“ _ The Warrior Queens: Warrior Women of Westeros.”  _ He read taking the book from Sansa. “Good choice, I’ve read this one. Well parts of it.” 

 

“It’s for my sister, she’s graduating soon and I thought she’d like to be inspired by historically badass women.”

 

“You’ll have to let me know if she likes it.” He offered and Sansa nodded. She’d said this line a million times, when the mother-of-the-bride ends up buying and outfit, Sansa would say they should come back and show her pictures. They never did, and she didn’t really mind. 

 

“Can I search your name for our loyalty program?” He asked.

 

“Sansa.” She replied smiling. “Sansa Stark.”

 

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

 

Sansa stood for a minutes outside the bookshop, hesitating. She wanted to go in and see if Bookboy Jon, as she referred to him in her mind, was working but she didn’t want to be annoying. Deciding that she needed a gift for Margaery’s birthday anyway she walked in and headed to the ‘romance section’. 

 

She was formulating a ‘self love’ birthday package,  _ Bubble bath, champagne, chocolates, nail polish, a historical romance,  _ when he spoke to her. 

 

“Did your sister like the book?” She jumped and bumped into a bookcase almost knocking it over. “Sorry!” Jon reached out and steadied her. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

 

“It’s fine!” She reached and tidied the shelves she had disorganised. “I was just thinking about a birthday present for a friend.” Jon smiled at her. His hands had dropped back to his sides, but Sansa’s arm felt warm where he had touched her. 

 

“You’re friend likes Romance?” He asked. 

 

“She usually goes for erotica, but she’s having a party with her family present, including her grandmother, so I think literary porn might be inappropriate.” 

 

He chuckled. 

 

“Might be a bit out of place, yeah.” He agreed. “So what kind of romance are we looking for?” He turned and scanned the shelves. “Medical, Intrigue, Cowboy, Historical?” 

 

“Historical.” Sansa decided. “Her family goes way back and I think she’d like to imagine herself as an unlikely heroine falling for a brooding but kind hearted lordling.” 

 

“Familiar with that genre?” He had a sly smile on his face. 

 

“Sometimes you just need a guy in a flowy white shirt and ridiculously high waisted black pants to sweep you off your feet. Don’t judge me.” He laughed again. 

 

“I’d go with this one then.” He pulled a book from the shelf and handed it to her. “It’s a retelling of the Jenny of Oldstones and Prince Duncan Targaryen myth. It’s pretty good and Jenny is a badass.” Sansa looked at him in surprise.

 

“Sometimes you just need some flowing hair and rapier sharp wit to knock the breath out of you. Don’t judge me.” She laughed and bought the book. 

 

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

 

She came prepared with time. With two coffees in hand she walked into the bookstore and straight up to the counter. Jon was leaning against it, reading a book. His hair was falling into his face and he had ridiculously thin wire framed glasses that would anyone else look like an idiot, but make him look unreasonably hot. 

 

“Okay, so I have a problem and a story, which do you want first?” She asked, placing the coffee she bought him on the counter. 

 

He looked at it and then at her. “I got it for you. It’s a latte with a cinnamon shot. The barista said it was your usual order.” 

 

“Are you stalking me?” He asked smiling, and taking a sip. 

 

“No - maybe- a little.” She smiled back and took a sip of her chai. “But I need your help and I thought bribery may help.”

 

“I always appreciate coffee.” He smiled. “Tell me what we’re looking for and then you can regale me with tales while we search.” 

 

“Okay, so my brother, Bran, he’s a total nerd and he’s researching the mythology of extrasensory perception in the history of Westeros, specifically within the myth of the Three Eyed Raven, and I thought I saw a book about that here but I can’t remember the name.” She took a breath. “I’m the annoying customer that can only remember it had a black and white cover.” 

 

Jon barked out a laugh. 

 

“Hardly annoying! You at least remember the subject.” He manoeuvred out from behind the counter and gestured for her to follow. “It should be over here.” He stood in front of a shelf and scanned book spines. “You had a story too.” He prompted. 

 

“Right! Okay, so I work at this little boutique on High Street, called Golden Rose-” 

 

“I’ve seen it. Lots of expensive sparkly dresses.” 

 

“Yeah, but for older ladies. Our clients are usually mother or grandmother of the bride kinda situations.” Sansa continued and Jon nodded that he was listening. “Anyway, it was like one of my first weeks there and I was in the shop alone and this old lady comes in, like walker, hearing aid, thick glasses, old lady.” Jon smiled at the picture she was painting. “So I ask if she needs help and she says no she’s just looking and after a moment she grabs some stuff and goes and to try them on.” She paused for breath. 

 

“Now, you have to know that since I started working there I’ve had this weird fear that someone is going to hurt themselves or die whilst there. I mean I’m around little old ladies most of the day, it’s not an irrational fear regardless of what Robb says.” 

 

“Oh no.” Jons muttered, not longer looking for the book, his attention focused on Sansa. 

 

“Anyway, this lady is trying stuff on and I get busy with this bitch of a woman who wants things to be sexy but not revealing, fashionable but timeless, the freaking moon and sun in a dress. She’s there for about an hour and it’s only after she leaves that I realise the old lady hasn’t come out of the change rooms.”

 

“Oh Gods.” 

 

“So I debate about going in there-”

 

“You debate! She could be dead!” Jon exclaimed.

 

“Yeah! And I don’t want to see that!” Sansa grinned at him and he grinned back. “So anyway, I bite the bullet and I call out to her, no answer. I try again, still not answer. So I get close and I tap on the door and ask if everything is okay. No freaking answer.” 

 

Jon’s face is a mixture of laughter and fear.

 

“So I use the little master key thingy and open the door and she’s sitting on the little chair thing, head back against the wall, mouth open-”

 

“No!” Jon exclaimed. 

 

“Yes! So anyway, I can’t tell if she’s breathing or not, and I need to know what to tell the ambulance and the police when I call, so I go to take her pulse and check her body temperature or something and as I touch her she jumps awake. Says sorry for falling asleep, she does it all the time, buys a 300 dollar dress and leaves.”

 

Jon bursts out laughing. 

 

“She falls asleep in changing rooms all the time?” He asked still laughing.

 

“Apparently!” Sansa exclaimed, enjoying the sounds of his laugh. “I told Margaery, her family owns the store-”

 

“And you got the historical romance for her, yeah?”

 

“Yeah. I told her and apparently this old lady comes in and naps all the time, they just forgot to tell me.” Jon laughed at this. 

 

“I haven’t had anyone fall asleep here.” He says with a smile. 

 

“Just put a few comfy armchairs about and you’ll have little old ladies scaring the seven hells out of you too.” Sansa smiled at him. There was an awkward pause. 

 

“So the Three Eyed Raven?” She asked. 

 

“Right!” Jon practically jumped. “I think you mean this one.” He pulled a book from the shelf that had a snow covered landscape as the background and a cawing raven with three eyes in the foreground. “ _ A Thousand Eyes.” _ Jon read the title. 

 

“Perfect!” They went back to the counter and Sansa chatted about Bran’s thesis and Jon mentioned that they can procure any special topic books she might want. 

 

“That sounds amazing. Here, I’ll give you my number, call me if you think of anything.” She grabbed a post-it and wrote her number followed by the little message  _ Coffee’s on you next time- Sansa Stark _ . 

 

Jon smiled and tucked the post-it in his pocket. 

 

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

 

It have been three days. Three whole freaking days and Bookboy Jon had not called or texted. Sansa had avoided the cute bookshop for the three days. She knew Arya would say to get over it and ask him out if she wanted to. But Sansa wanted him to ask. She’s started talking to him the last three times! He could come to her for once. She sighed and crossed her arms, looking at the boxes of dresses that had to be unpack and steamed. 

 

The bell of the boutique jingled and Sansa left the back room, shutting the door behind her. 

 

“Sorry, we’re actually about to close-” She stopped, standing behind the counter. Bookboy Jon stood awkwardly in the doorway. He was wearing those stupidly adorable glasses and had his hair tied back. He wasn’t wearing the black polo shirt uniform of the bookstore, but still wore black. Black boots, black jeans, black top, but a dark blue denim jacket lined with sheepskin. He looked ridiculously good and Sansa felt oddly frumpy in her black slacks and polka dot blouse, measuring tape slung around her neck. 

 

“Ahh, hi.” Jon offered, waving awkwardly before shoving his hand into his jacket pocket. “So, funny story.” He walked closer to her. “My roommate, who’s a sweet guy, washed my work pants for me, because he’s a sweet guy, but your phone number still in the pocket and I couldn’t call you because… I mean, you know what water does to paper but every time I’ve come in here the past couple of days to see if you were on, you weren’t.” He stood at the counter and offered her a shy smiled. “And I’m pretty sure Margaery thinks I’m stalking you, she’s scary by the way, but I didn’t know how else to contact you.” 

 

“You could have looked up my number in the bookshop loyalty database thingy.” She offered, smiling at him in return. His face fell and he closed his eyes. 

 

“I’m an idiot.” He muttered. Sansa laughed.

 

“No, you’re sweet.” 

 

“So now, that I’ve successfully stalked you, freaked out your best friend and made an ass of myself, do you want to get coffee sometime?” 

 

“I’d really like that.” She could feel herself smiling.

 

“Maybe now?” He leant on the counter, leaning close to her. “You did just say you were about to close.” Sansa leaned on the counter too, leaning close to him.

 

“It’s too late in the evening for coffee.” She countered and saw a flicker of disappointment cross Jon’s face. “I’d be up for dinner though.” He grinned. Her eyes darted to his mouth, to those lips that were full and soft looking that contained a laugh to lovely and words so clever. She wanted to kiss those lips. 

 

She leant forward and saw Jon lean forward to meet her. The bell above the door jingled as a customer entered.

 

“We’re closed!” Sansa yelled. 

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little oneshot that's been bouncing around in my head. All the retail stories are actual stories from my experience as a retail worker. Sorry for any and all mistakes, I didn't beta this. Comments are always appreciated! :)


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